The prompt from Sticky Fingers this week was my photography resolution.  She made some suggestions and to be honest hers was probably the best – to include herself in the photos.  When my son looks back on his photos he will see mostly himself, then various friends and family but very rarely me.  Somebody else took this but I do have a timer on the camera that I keep on looking for but not finding.  So to add to that resolution: find out how to use the delay on my camera.

I then thought that if I was going to be in more pictures, then maybe another resolution that is kind of related to photography, would be to learn how better to use Gimp, so that I can ‘photoshop’ out any spots or other less lovely things that might be in the pictures.  Well, all the stars do it, don’t they?

well, as the snow has yet to materialise, here’s my own little snowman (or no man, as he likes to say, as he tosses a pair of used kickers or a t-shirt around his head for a hat) for my entry to the This Mummy Loves and Appliances Online Washing Machines competition.

As a mum, you want to look good but don’t have the time to faff around reapplying your makeup all day. Neither really, do you have the time to browse the cosmetics stands any more, or have the budget to buy lots of different products to try out.  Baby fingers want to touch your face so you need things that will last all day, are easy to apply and that can be left on all day with the confidence that by tea time you are still looking ok. You want to go swimming (yep, this stuff is even swimming-proof, just), walking, doing your MuTu exercises, baby groups and activities and not have to worry about retouching your face. In the last two years I have found my almost-perfect kit. so I thought I’d share it with you.

Foundation

I have always had fair skin that was prone to flushing but when I was pregnant it turned to rosacea.  I kind of assumed that it would vanish when I was no longer lugging that massive kicking bump around in my tummy but it continued.  I feel that it ages me, I don’t like it and so i choose to hide it with makeup.  I tried a few different foundations.  The Maybelline minerals foundation was good, and would probably suit most people because although it didn’t quite give the coverage I was looking for, it did seem to last well.  Keromask is especially for people with skin problems but it did seem to let the red through still, and didn’t apply so easily.  My out and out favourite is Estee Lauder Double Wear Maximum Cover camouflage makeup for face and body.  It glides on and hides everything.  You only need a tiny amount too, so although it is pricey, it lasts well over a year.  When I started using it i was worried that it would clog my pores, as i do have a spot-prone skin but I did not see extra spots and it washes off completely in the evening er easily with any cleanser used with water and a flannel.  (I use murad cleanser – it’s a godsend for spotty skin).

Eyeshadow

Eyeshadow just seems to disappear throughout the day, doesn’t it?  Not any more for me since my sister bought me some Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion. You put a tiny amount over your lids and bingo! Eyeshadow sits still all day.

I use Accessorize Icon eye shadow and Vivo Pearl eyeshadow in gold leaf, a colour that looks a bit yuck in the compact but goes really nicely with my blue-grey eyes and fair hair.  I have reviewed Vivo, and so far have been very impressed with their products and their prices are unbeatable.  I won the eyeshadow in a champagne colour from Latest in Beauty and it really brightens and lifts my tired old eyes.

Eyeliner

Another great find is Urban Decay Glide on eye pencil.  I won a voucher from Beautybay.com and this as well as the mascara below were some of the products I bought.  It says that it’s a 24 hour liner and I can confirm that is true – I’ve sometimes woken in the morning after a too-hasty night time wash with its still on my eyes.

Vivo liquid eyeliner is just brilliant, and for the couple of quid it costs, it applies easily and does not smudge.

Mascara

Blinc mascara  is the find of the century.  Also from Beautybay.com, it puts tubes of colour around your lashes and does not come off until you wash your face with plenty of water and a flannel to apply slight pressure and remove it.  I have sensitive eyes, wear contact lenses and suffer from hayfever and this is the only mascara that I have found that can last all day with no smudging AND be completely removed at night so that you don’t wake up with panda eyes or stripy pillowcases.

The only slight disadvantage is that it doesn’t volumise or curl, but they do sell a primer and a heated eyelash curler, but I haven’t tried either.  This is another pricey one but again, it does last a very long time without drying or clogging, and if you’re not sure, you can buy a trial size one for £2.56.

A fabulous tip though is to line the upper inside of your eyelid with eyeliner.  I use a tesco one so old i cant remember its true name but it works a treat for making your lashes appear thicker, though it is uncomfortable to do sometimes, ‘specially if your eyes are feeling delicate.

I would really like to find a good mascara that volumises and curls in one go, for times that I feel the need for more dramatic eyes.   I recently bought Rimmel’s Scandal ‘eyes and was very disappointed – the brush is to fat to use easily and the mascara is thick and globby on the wand.  Vivo’s thickening mascara was too dry – it seemed to hardly go on my lases at all – a big disappointment after my success with other Vivo products.  I have recelty run out of Maybelline’s colossal express waterproof mascara which was ok with Rimmel Sexy Curves mascara applied afterwards. Together they make my eyes look brilliant, if a little spidery, but do not withstand swimming or hayfever and do not remove very easily.

Other
Vivo radiant boost Highlighter is my new touche eclat and at about £2.50 i will definitely continue to use this to brighten my under eye area that has been savaged by two and a half years of sleepless nights.

All about face bronzing powder was a cracking bronzer that I found on the cheapo hooks at tesco.  I was looking for an easy to apply bronzer because I’m not that keen on the shimmery ones – they seem to make my cheeks look not quite right.  This was about £1.50 and I love it.

Vivo pressed powder compact - I missed this off the photo but it’s a gorgeous chrome compact with a mirror inside and comes with a sponge too.  It’s only £2.39 and it looks like it should cost well over a tenner.

Disclaimer: I bought all of these beauty products, apart from the Vivo eyeshadow, which I reviewed in a previous post, and products that i won in competitions.  Mostly, were bought by myself.

There have been so many messy moments since I started feeding my son real food, but I narrowed it down to two classic shots.  The first one was at around the six month mark and he’d been eating nutella and the second around a year later, after finishing some of Grannys raspberry sorbet (pink puddings are always a hit with him (yes, the chair needed scrubbing too).

This is my entry to the Appliances Online messiest kids competition, check out all the other entries over on Me, The Man & The Baby‘.  Thank you – I have massively enjoyed sorting through my pictures to find these – it’s put a massive grin on my face.

I’ve been meaning to participate in the Gallery at Sticky Fingers blog for a while now and when I saw this prompt, as well as the fact I have a posh new camera, I thought I’d join in at long last.

This week the theme is eyes so of course I had to photograph the deep hypnotic brown eyes of my wonderful son.  I love his eyes, they convey so much expression, I love to look at his eyes when he is  doing something, or watching the television, and see them dart around, taking everything into his fresh new two year old brain.

These are his thoughtful eyes, when he is concentrating on something:

And these are his distracted eyes,when he’s thinking about something.

When I asked him to open his eyes because i wanted to take a picture of them, this is what i got:

But the eyes that make me smile the most are accompanied by his raucous laughter, he makes me laugh so many times a day.

The other eyes in my house belong to my lovely if somewhat troublesome and very mucky dog, Shadow:

And of course, me, looking a bit more tired than i did a few years ago:

I like to encourage my son to help me in the kitchen.  when he was a baby i used to sit him atop of the work surface in his bumbo (closely supervised of course) but when he outgrew that he still wanted to see what I was doing so I let him stand on a small stepladder to have a look.  He can see and feel and taste bits of the ingredients and he knows now not to touch sharp or hot things (though i still put knives out of reach just in case).  Lasagne is a nice easy recipe that we can prepare together ‘anya’ he calls it.  We start with the ingredients below – we don’t really weigh out the ingredients, just go with what looks right.

Lasagne

I used campbells packet soup but the tinned condensed mushroom soup gives a richer taste.

Mushrooms

Frozen spinach (or fresh, but I usually keep frozen spinach in because its so easy that way)

Grlic

Philly

Cheese

How to:

Soak about 6 sheets of lasagne in hot water to soften them (I dont know if this is compulsory but I like to do it).  Crush as many garlic cloves as you like and stir into the soup.  Put some of the soup in the bottom of the dish then get your toddler to break up some mushrooms and put them on top, then break some frozen spinach off and add that too (this is where it gets messy). I’ll blob a few bits of philly, then put two sheets of lasagne on top of this, I’m not sure if this is the best way – comments welcome!.  Then I pour some more soup mix on top of that and we layer the ingredients till it reaches the top of the dish.  Cover it and microwave it for eight minutes.  Remove from the microwave and add some slices of cheese to the top.  Put it in the halogen oven until the cheese melts and bubbles.  Remove it and let it sit for 15 minutes (I read this somewhere).

Serve with a bit of salad. Ta-da!

My entry to Appliances Online Messy Kids Cooking competition http://babybudgeting.co.uk/are-you-a-blogger-who-wants-to-win-100-amazon-voucher/comment-page-1/#comment-16966 

and also to the Appliances online and RedTedArt family recipe competition http://www.redtedart.com/2012/01/13/competition-cooking-with-kids-100-amazon-voucher/

Happy New Year!!!!

Here’s to health, a bit more wealth, and lots of happiness for each and every one.

And a nice long summer wouldn’t go amiss either.